New guidelines allowing flags at venues of Lusofonia Games issued

Panaji: The Lusofonia Games organizers in Goa have withdrawn their spectator guide, which had banned flags in the stadium during the event, and reissued it after removing flags from the list of prohibited items.

The guide will now be made available online for the spectators of the Portuguese Commonwealth Games scheduled in January next year.

The spectators guide which was issued earlier had "flags with/or poles" as one of the 40 banned items listed for the games which would be held across six stadiums in Goa.

"Flags are allowed but poles would not be allowed," Lusofonia Games chief executive officer Keshav Chandra had told reporters last Friday, following which the spectator guide was reissued.

The games will have 1,500 athletes and team members from 12 countries participating in the 12-day event.

The organizers had said that the guidelines are prepared by the special cell of Goa police in association with the local organizing committee of Lusofonia Games keeping in mind the international sports protocol and also the local conditions.

All venues will have a security screening process which includes metal detection, Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMDs) and X-Ray scanners.